If This Be Treason
by erunyauve
Summary: *Complete* Political allegory based on the Akallabéth – During the reign of Tar Ancalimon, a Lord of Andúnië considers the Shadow that has fallen over Númenor.


**Author's Note:** The 'Shadow' (aka Sauron) is not meant to stand for any one person or belief, nor is the 'One' necessarily 'God' (I prefer to think of both as forces of human and mother nature). Thundera Tiger's 'Land of Light and Shadows' influenced my interpretation of Harad in this fic. As for the canon, Númenor did establish colonies along the coast of Harad, but probably somewhat later than the reign of Tar Ancalimon. [1]  
  
**Disclaimer:** Tar Ancalimon and the Lords of Andúnië belong to Tolkien. This particular Lord is one of those nameless ancestors of Elendil (the Faithful).  
  


**If This Be Treason** [2]  


  
Sérendil folded the letter from Tar Ancalimon. He had no choice but to obey, and would command a ship of his men to Harad. Yet his heart was troubled - never had he felt so impotent. He heard the counsel of the Lords of Andúnië scorned; he saw the will of the people of Númenor silenced.  
  
Having given the necessary orders, he returned to his secretary and sat with quill poised over fresh parchment. The High King at Forlond would not interfere in matters of men, yet Sérendil could not but give warning: the Firstborn could no longer depend on the aid of Númenor. The Shadow now lay over Númenor itself.  
  
_Afore I set sail I would share my fears, though I do so in the strictest confidence. I dare not speak frankly in Armenelos, for the supporters of Tar Ancalimon are many. They vilify the wise and brook no dissent. The Council of the Sceptre is stacked with the King's men and the voice of reason holds no weight among them.  
  
Of the Haradrim, we have little understanding. Nor do we wish to understand them, for in war the enemy must be an Other - orcs, if you will, or some other creature of darkness, but not men. Yet, they too awoke with us at Hísilómë, and they too know the One.  
  
It is true that the corsairs who trouble our ports have an ally in the chieftain of the Haradrim. Yet, as you warned my forefathers, Númenor is not blameless in the spread of the Shadow among the men of Ennor. Our ports and our commerce drive them from their lands, and in our greed for wood we care not if our moneys find their way into the hands of those who do the work of the Shadow.  
  
Tar Ancalimon is a proud man, with little thought for such things, for I perceive his act of war has other motives. The tributes exacted upon the men of Ennor have made him and his men wealthy, but little of it reaches the ordinary folk of Númenor. There are children in this abundant land who live in hovels not unlike those of the poorest men in Ennor. Yet none at court speak of this, for all talk is now of war.  
  
The attack upon Harad can only drive its people further into the arms of the Shadow. It cares little for those who ally with it, for it hates all men and welcomes this war. On a day when men march against other men, only the Shadow has victory - and its influence does not rest with the enemies of Númenor. More now than in the time of our King's father and the one who came before that, the Shadow moves the heart of Tar Ancalimon.  
  
Treason! Treason, they would call my words. Treason, to speak so against the King in a time of war. Yet such things must be said, for love of Númenor, and in loyalty to our friends, the elves._  
  
He sealed the letter and sought out his son. No other could he trust to deliver it to Forlond. Though the law of the land came not from the people, the people lived under it, still. With heavy feet and a heavier heart, he went forth to gather his men.  


* * *

  


[1] 'Númenor did establish colonies along the coast of Harad'  

    (ref. _The Peoples of Middle-Earth_, 'The Tale of Years of the Second Age' p 175 pub. Houghton Mifflin)  
  

[2] 'If This Be Treason'  

    The title is from Patrick Henry's speech before the Virginia House of Burgesses, 1765: "If _this_ be treason, make the most of it."  



End file.
